Down in the Mouth

WE'VE BEEN NOMINATED

2008-02-04T11:51:00.001-08:00

Well, it's back to the festivals we go. We've been nominated for top honors at the Buffalo/Niagara Film Festival.

We have a new color corrected and re-edited version of the film ready to go for the screening. Our date hasn't been finalized yet, but it will be sometime the week of March 24th through the 29th.

On another note, Bev and I have just put the finishing touches on our new musical, Tap Dancing As Fast As I Can. We'll be singing some of the music at our show at Birdland on 44th in Manhattan on March 3rd (the shows at 7 pm if anyone wants to come down and listen in.

Awards Ceremony at Kent Film Festival

2007-04-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Here we are receiving our award at the Kent Film Festival. This picture was taken on the final day of the festival. That's Lynn Redgrave behind me on the right. The organizers of the festival - Frank and Patrice Galterio - are on the far left and right. After this picture was taken we went over to the screening of our film, which was very well attended. The film got a lot of laughs a caused quite a bit of buzz. All in all, a very gratifying experience.

We won!!!!

2007-04-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

Down in the Mouth took Best Short Film at the Kent Film Festival at the end of January. Lynn Redgrave presented the award. There were some GREAT films too. We were thrilled! If you haven't been to Kent, it's a sleepy little hamlet in the woods of Connnecticut. They're still building their festival. This was their second year - and there were over sixty films being shown.

Up next the Int'l Festial of Cinema and Technology. Stay tuned!

Kent Film Festival

2007-03-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

Come on up to Kent CT if you can on March 31st (2007) and see Down in the Mouth. It will be showing at 8:00 PM in the main Common House in the center of town. For more information, go to my webpage at www.kirbyward.com and click on the film link.

Let the Festival Begin!

2006-09-02T20:02:00.000-07:00

Come to the ArcLight Theatre at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood on September 11th at 3:15 pm where you can see the world premier of Down in the Mouth. It's the Los Angeles International Shorts Film Festival. We'll be on Screen 12 with about five other films. We hope to pack the theatre.

Then after that, the film will have a screeniing in early October at the New England Film and Video Festival. Watch for news about when that will be. The festival happens between Oct. 5th and Oct. 9th, 2006 at The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA. Hopefully all you east coasters will come out for that.

Also, I'm still working hard trying to find a way to raise about $13,000 for the negative cut and blow up to thirty five for Down in the Mouth. I'm aiming to get this done before Sundance rolls around (gotta think positive!). If you're intersted in helping out, scroll down to the bottom of this page where you can read all about how we're non-profit, tax deductible, etc. etc.

Hope to see you at the festival!

Kirby Ward email address change

2006-07-27T15:25:00.000-07:00

My email address has changed to:

kirbydw@mac.com

Kirby

Strike up the Band!

2006-03-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

Got the first music files today from our composer on the film, Michael Tavera. It was a very exciting day as I was able to plug in the files (we're doing this all on the web -- he's in LA) and listen to how they work with the action. Man, what a difference! Mike is a really great musician who's been working out in Hollywood for many years now. We've been friends for a long time and worked together before -- all on stage -- but this is the first time on film. I can't wait to hear what he sends me next!

The film continues to grow as the final elements are being added. We're still looking for money -- I applied for some grants this last week. I think the money will come though. I just have to be patient and keep moving forward as much as possible. Deadlines for film festivals are just flying by though. Hopefully soon I'll have something to submit (at least digitally).

Fast Forward

2006-03-15T05:27:00.000-08:00

The film took 15 days to shoot. It would have been quicker but we were held up for about five days while we hunted for a new location to shoot our final scenes. I'll be forever in Production Designer Ken Larson's debt for his undaunting ability to keep going and adapt. He built us two office sets over the course of two weeks, wnd made them look incredible. I can't say enough good about him!

Anyway, jump cut to the present -- the film is in post and it's edited together digitally. We're now looking for finishing funds to mix the soundtrack, cut the negative, and get it into 35 mm format with music and so forth. Again, anybody who wants to donate to the arts can get in touch with Film/Video Arts, www.fva.com (tax deductible - check out my previous post).

Putting It Together...Yadda Yadda

2005-10-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

The film is coming along well. I put the final scenes together last week and was able to watch a rough cut from beginning to end. It’s running a few seconds under twenty minutes. I hope to get the running time down to about nineteen. It’s difficult to cut anything because it took such a massive effort to get it all on film. But, as they say in the biz, you have to be willing to kill your babies.

Speaking of the “massive effort”, I said I’d tell you about preproduction in the last post, so here it is...

The script for Down in the Mouth was written over two days in 2003. It was rewritten and polished while I was working on the Broadway Show Never Gonna Dance (I had a lot of time to myself backstage). My plan was always to do it right -- a full crew, a nice lighting package, the whole nine yards. One thing I learned though is that you can’t make a movie alone. I had no support group. What’s more, I had little cash. Though I’d made a lot of phone calls and spoken to a lot of people about helping me, I knew without money I wasn’t gonna get anywhere. I had to put the thing on the shelf, but it was always nagging in the back of my mind.

As fate would have it, in 2005 my wife and I decided it may be time to sell our house. We’d done a lot of work improving it, which increased it’s value (and the expense in owning it) considerably. It was time to move on. Our house sold for more than we dreamed it would and we suddenly found ourselves with cash enough to realize some of our personal goals. This movie was mine...and I have an incredible wife who said, “go for it.” So, “Great” I thought, “I’m gonna go for it!” So, how do you get something like this started? I found some good leads on the internet, but I quickly realized if this thing was going to really happen I needed someone else involved and excited about it too. That way the load could be shared. It’s hard being the only catalyst on something as complex as a movie shoot. I mean, there’s nothing there until you create it. It’s like chasing rainbows. That’s when I hooked up with Cynthia...

Cynthia Heim and I met a number of years ago when we both worked on the National Tour of Show Boat! of all places. We ran into each other in New York City one rainy afternoon and I noticed she was reading a book about screenwriting. I told her my idea and she said, “I’m in.” It seemed like a perfect match...she’d never produced a film and I’d never directed one. It was like the first day of school. Lots of dreams, but no idea how to achieve them. First thing we did was set the date to start filming -- July 28th. It’s always been my experience that if you set a date for something, whether you know what you’re doing or not, that date will come and you’ll find a way. And now I had a “cohort”.

Everything fell in line quick. We had about three months to get everything set up. I found our DP, Christopher Webb, off the internet. He brought in a core of gaffers and camera assistants that he’d worked with in the past, plus a ton of lighting instruments. I was referred to Ken Larson, our production designer, by a friend of a friend who said he’d been doing film in Los Angeles but had relocated to NY. He built the giant swinging uvula in about two days. That was when I knew there was no turning back. Nothing else you can do with a giant uvula except photograph it (well...maybe someone out there could think of something else to do with it, but if you can, it’s probably best to keep it to yourself). Casting happened about six days before shooting began. Talk about the last minute -- but it was a very lucky last minute because that’s where I met most of my cast.

It's a wrap!

2005-08-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the official website and Blog for Down in the Mouth, a movie that will do for the uvula what Davy Crockett did for coon skin caps. After many months of preproduction and location scouting, the cast and crew of over forty plunged into the shoot on June 28th of 2005. What followed was enough drama and mayhem to fill an entire two hour documentary -- you know, one of those “The making of...” deals -- all in the pursuit of a fifteen minute film! The good news is it’s in the can!

Before we get any further, let me give you the “official” pitch on what Down in the Mouth is all about...

The inspiration for Down in the Mouth came while reading an article in a magazine that mentioned the seemingly pointless appendage of the body, the uvula. What the hell is this thing for? It got me thinking about other “appendages” that human beings tend to obsess over, and it struck me how the human race has run amuck with body modification. Through plastic, or “cosmetic”, surgery we can now enhance, lengthen, diminish and otherwise alter our bodies (and parts thereof) at will, and we do more and more often these days, pursuing some crazy ideal that has been imprinted on us through the media or whatever. Well, what if some poor guy latches onto the idea that his tiny uvula is the thing that’s been keeping him down all his life? Hence, DOWN IN THE MOUTH.

“Down in the Mouth is an absurdist look at one man’s pursuit of biological equality in an ever more competitive world.”

Down in the Mouth happened through the dedication and hard work of some amazingly talented artists in the Manhattan area, all of whom stayed on the project when the going got particularly precarious. Without the collaborative efforts of cinematographer Christopher Webb and our great team of gaffers and camera assistants, as well as the vision and craftsmanship of Ken Larson and his team of builders and painters (not to mention their stamina when circumstances required building two versions of the same set!) this film would never have gotten this far. To the entire production team I owe my endless gratitude.

The difficulties in making the movie became immediately apparent when we realized that what we were talking about was a film with roughly 18 principal characters, at least six different locations, a bevy of extras and, as independent filmmaking always goes, a limited cash flow. It was going to be a big production. That’s where Film/Video Arts came in. This New York organization supplied us with non-profit status and allowed us to solicit tax-deductible donations from friends and family...

By the way, this would probably be the best place to mention that WE’RE STILL ACCEPTING DONATIONS! This thing isn’t finished yet, and the big ticket expenses have yet to be incurred. We still have post-production to get through, and that’s going to be huge. Once the rough cut is finished, we have the negative cut to do, and the score to be assembled. The sound mix follows, and then it’s being blown up to 35mm. Finally, copies need to be made and sent out. There’s still a lot of ground to cover. If you’re interested in being a part of this process, and if you like the idea of having your name up on the screen as a supporter, you can send your donation to:

Donation
Film/Video Arts
25 East 21st St
3rd Floor
New York, NY 10013

Put on your check “Down in the Mouth” so the money will be earmarked for our film and put in our account. Then Film/Video Arts will supply you with a receipt that you can include in your year-end tax filing. Anyway, enough of the panhandling. In the next entry I’ll tell you all about pre-production.